Most vehicles presently manufactured by the auto industry utilize the so-called unibody construction in which the front end of the vehicle body, beginning at the firewall, is provided with a stub frame. This type of vehicle body design eliminates the need for a separate frame member and lends itself well for use with front wheel drive powertrains. In this type of body design, it is common to provide the stub frame with a pair of lower rails fixed at their rear ends to the vehicle body and having one or more cross members which can serve to support a cradle having suspension and powertrain components connected thereto.